Can Requip cause depression?

[pedrime]

I take Wellbutrin for depression and it's worked perfectly for years. So perfectly I tend to be overly optimistic. I started .25 mg of Requip 4 nights ago and the past 2 days I've barely been able to get myself out of bed (b/c I feel so low).

Side note--after my 1st night on Requip I had ravenous hunger and severe nausea and my doc was nice enough to prescribe Tigan, an anti-nausea med. It is working & I'm spost to take it til my body adjusts to the Requip.

The good news is, Requip is already working at the introductory dose!!!

I'm concerned about possible depression, however. In the past it's spun out of control quickly. Now I have 3 small children and I don't want to let this happen.

Thanks in advance for your knowledge.

[SquirmingSusan]

I don't know if it's listed in the "official" side effect list; you can always go to drugs.com and look it up. But I know it made me depressed and agitated and it seems like that isn't all that uncommon.

Just be aware of the possibility, and don't take more Requip than what you need. You may be fine and not have that happen.

[ViewsAskew]

I didn't take Requip, so take my answer with a grain (or shaker) of salt.

Mirapex definitely altered my moods. Depressed isn't right...more like menopausal - crying without provocation, angry without provocation, almost as if I was watching someone else at times. Very odd. Stopped as I stopped the drug.

Every class of drug that works for us changes brain chemistry. Brain chemistry is intricately tied to mood. Just a subtle adjustment in one chemical over another could easily cause problems for someone.

The trick is to find the drug or combo that works best with each person's natural chemistry. Of course, just my opinion...

[bharrod]

This is incredible! I was just logging onto the site after being away for a short while, and I was logging on with the intention to post the exact same post that you have posted, my title of my post was going to be " Can requip cause depression?" -- How Ironic, good thing I read the first page of posts before I posted the exact same post that you have already posted.

I TRULY BELIEVE that my depression will not get better due to the requip, normally antidepressants work on me, but since being on requip, none of my antidepressants are working whatsoever, I truly believe the requip is causing my depression to get much worse.
Anyone else have any views on this?
I wonder if there is any data to date out there that can prove this theory?
Mia

I take Wellbutrin for depression and it's worked perfectly for years. So perfectly I tend to be overly optimistic. I started .25 mg of Requip 4 nights ago and the past 2 days I've barely been able to get myself out of bed (b/c I feel so low).

Side note--after my 1st night on Requip I had ravenous hunger and severe nausea and my doc was nice enough to prescribe Tigan, an anti-nausea med. It is working & I'm spost to take it til my body adjusts to the Requip.

The good news is, Requip is already working at the introductory dose!!!

I'm concerned about possible depression, however. In the past it's spun out of control quickly. Now I have 3 small children and I don't want to let this happen.

Thanks in advance for your knowledge.

[bharrod]

by the way I have 2 small children and there I days that I cannot even shower, brush my teeth or barely get out of bed due to the depression that I believe is triggered at this moment from the requip, I have been on requip almost a year now and my depression has sank to it's lowest the longer I take the requip.
Mia

I take Wellbutrin for depression and it's worked perfectly for years. So perfectly I tend to be overly optimistic. I started .25 mg of Requip 4 nights ago and the past 2 days I've barely been able to get myself out of bed (b/c I feel so low).

Side note--after my 1st night on Requip I had ravenous hunger and severe nausea and my doc was nice enough to prescribe Tigan, an anti-nausea med. It is working & I'm spost to take it til my body adjusts to the Requip.

The good news is, Requip is already working at the introductory dose!!!

I'm concerned about possible depression, however. In the past it's spun out of control quickly. Now I have 3 small children and I don't want to let this happen.

Thanks in advance for your knowledge.

[SquirmingSusan]

Hi Mia. I'm glad to hear from you again, but sorry you're having problems with depression. I think that Requip can cause depression; it did that to me. But you've made a lot of other changes in your life recently as well. I wonder how all of that has played into the depression? Have you talked with the doctor about it and about treatment options?

Please keep us posted, and hang in there.

[pedrime]

Mia--this is too coincidental. I'm glad you shared your experience. As Views Askew said, any of the RLS drugs change our brain chemistry. Personally as I've ramped up the dose these past few weeks I've felt more depressed, sleepy/drugged (not in a good/happy way) and decided to decrease to .5 and stay there until my next dr. appt. Weighing risk/benefit I'd rather have a little RLS and lose the Requip-induced depression.

Since I am not having a good experience with higher doses of Requip, I hate benzos and I don't want to look like a druggie and outright ask for opioids, (which work for me) I'm asking my doc for a script for pneumatic hospital grade leg compressors. Will try this in combo with the low dose Requip.

(BTW my comment about opioids was not meant to offend anyone taking them...quite the opposite. Unfortunately in my experience most drs are loath to prescribe them for anything besides major surgery post-op. Or EVEN post op....after my last c-section the hospital's protocol was IV of numerous 'potent' non-narcotics....when I complained of REAL PAIN Nurse Ratched glared like I was criminal. And this was after I delivered twins weighing a combined 17# and had my tubes tied!!!! Sorry about the rant, I just get so pissed thinking how this pharma policing gone mad is harming so many people in legitimate pain/need.)

Anyway Good Luck Mia and please keep us posted.

[SquirmingSusan]

Pedrime, keep us posted on how the compression works. Many of us have wondered if that might help. I know regular compression stockings feel great on my legs, but I haven't noticed they help my RLS. I suppose since much of mine is in my arms, though, that they wouldn't. Sorry, rambling...

You're right about the policing of pain meds. That's just crazy that they wouldn't treat your pain while your were in the hospital. What the bleep is that about?

Hang in there. There must be a way for you to get relief from the RLS without inducing depression.

[bharrod]

I also had a c-section with tubal ligation (Wow the pain from that was HORRIBLE FOR 2 WEEKS AFTER IT ALL). I was fortunate to be on Vicodin for 2 weeks post delivery and tubal. I'm sorry they were such jerks for you. Doctors are getting strict and having to do so because so many abuse the system. But they must still be open to those of us with these horrible conditions that need relief. I have been practically suicidal 3am with my RLS sometimes when it got so bad.

Right now the Requip works 100% of the time for me. I have No RLS while I take Requip, it works perfect for me. However, I do believe that it could be contributing to my severe depression and my mood swings. So yesterday I called my neurologist frantic saying if I didn't get off the requip I would be in the psych ward for depression. So he made an emergency appt just for me this morning, and after 1 hour of talking, and lots of crying on my part (due to my severe depression). We decided on Methadone. I filled the script a few mins ago, and I have the drug, but now I am TERRIFIED TO TAKE IT. You know, after the whole Anna Nicole Smith and her son both dying while on Methadone.
Remember, I have RLS, ADD, OCD, and Bipolar II (which is really just major depression). So I am on a lot of drugs right now.

Currently I am taking:

Morning Pills:
150mg Zoloft for depression
1mg of xanax for anxiety
200mg of Carbatrol for Mood swings

Nighttime Pills I take:
1mg Requip for RLS
200mg of Carbatrol for Mood swings
1mg xanax to help me sleep

I was also taking 3 - 3mg of Melatonin at nighttime to help me sleep, but found out yesterday that it can actually cause depression, so I will not be taking that anymore.

My Neurologist wants to keep me on all of the above meds except for the Melatonin and the Requip and now we are adding Methadone 5mg 3 times per day. I am terrified to start taking it though, will I feel dizzy? Sick? throw up? drugged up? Remember I have 2 very young children to care for and to drive around town.

Mia

Mia--this is too coincidental. I'm glad you shared your experience. As Views Askew said, any of the RLS drugs change our brain chemistry. Personally as I've ramped up the dose these past few weeks I've felt more depressed, sleepy/drugged (not in a good/happy way) and decided to decrease to .5 and stay there until my next dr. appt. Weighing risk/benefit I'd rather have a little RLS and lose the Requip-induced depression.

Since I am not having a good experience with higher doses of Requip, I hate benzos and I don't want to look like a druggie and outright ask for opioids, (which work for me) I'm asking my doc for a script for pneumatic hospital grade leg compressors. Will try this in combo with the low dose Requip.

(BTW my comment about opioids was not meant to offend anyone taking them...quite the opposite. Unfortunately in my experience most drs are loath to prescribe them for anything besides major surgery post-op. Or EVEN post op....after my last c-section the hospital's protocol was IV of numerous 'potent' non-narcotics....when I complained of REAL PAIN Nurse Ratched glared like I was criminal. And this was after I delivered twins weighing a combined 17# and had my tubes tied!!!! Sorry about the rant, I just get so pissed thinking how this pharma policing gone mad is harming so many people in legitimate pain/need.)

Anyway Good Luck Mia and please keep us posted.

[ViewsAskew]

Mia, I am not a doc, so take this in that light.

Please consider talking to your doc about Methadone 3 times a day. Consider trying it ONCE first. It will be much, much, much easier to stop in the long run, particularly if it doesn't work. Also, if the Requip is causing you to augment, the methadone ALONE may solve all your problems. I only say this because I went through a similar situation and the result was permanently worsened RLS. I don't want that to happen to anyone.

[SquirmingSusan]

Mia, you are right to be scared of the methadone. It's a powerful drug, and it can suppress breathing. But you are not Anna Nicole Smith or her son. I don't know what the doctor has given you as a starting dose, but if you're nervous about how it will affect you, maybe take 1/2 of the pill.

In this case I have to disagree with Ann about taking it all as a once a day dose, which is what some RLS patients do. It's probably better, considering the other medications, to spread out the dosage throughout the day. On the other hand, if one pill a day works to control the RLS, and you don't have to take all 3 of them, so much the better.

You may want to talk with your doctor about it, especially if your worried about drug interactions. Get input from the doctor about if it's better to take it once a day or spread it out.

I hope it works for your RLS. Many of us have found it to be a godsend.

[ViewsAskew]

In light of SUsan's comment, I'll explain my rationale a bit more.

Methadone can be terribly difficult to stop taking if you take it more than once a day. So far, the statements from the docs that prescibe it is that is't NOT hard to stop if you use it once a day. It tends to last up to 12 hours in many folks.

Mia has considered that the Requip is augmenting, which may be the cause of ALL the daytime RLS at this point. Without stopping the Requip (and the methadone will help with that tremendously), she won't know if the Requip is implicated. She may be terribly over medicated...but we don't know.

Again, I'm not a doc. Just my opinion based on the bit I've read and others experiences.

[Aiken]

Mia--

As said, start the methadone VERY SLOWLY and ramp it up VERY SLOWLY. I want to repeat and reinforce what's been said. You have to be careful.

Why?

1) Methadone is quite strong. It's at least as strong as oxycodone, in my opinion, if not stronger. If you're used to the feeling you get with regular opioids, you may not think it's strong, but it'll kill a lot of pain and it'll put your lights out, and it'll definitely depress your breathing as much as you'd expect oxycodone to, if not more.

2) Unlike drugs like Vicodin, Methadone has a very long half-life. One dose of methadone lasts me all day and then some. It varies a lot by metabolism, something like 10 to 100 hours. If you're on the long end of the spectrum, the dose(s) you took yesterday may still have a strong influence on your body today (maybe even tomorrow), so when you take your new doses, you could end up with considerably more than you got yesterday. This means you have to adjust very slowly, because when you up the dose, you won't reach a new "steady state" for a day or two. The immediate effects can't be used to judge new adjustments.

3) As an addendum to #2, note also that methadone can take a long time to kick in. If you take it and you think 90 minutes later it hasn't done anything, keep waiting. Depending on how your GI tract works, what's in it, and your metabolism, you might need 2-3 hours to feel it. Don't get impatient and take more.

Seriously, it's a good drug, but you must be careful with it, moreso I think than other opioids. *You* especially have to be careful, since you're taking a cocktail that already includes at least two other CNS depressants.

If you take it, take just a little bit and pay close attention to your breathing for a day or two. If it feels like your body isn't automatically breathing as deeply as it ought to, have someone hang out with you, because your intuition might be right, and if it knocks you out, you don't want to be alone when your lungs decide they're not in the mood to work a full shift today.

If you're careful, you ought to be safe. You just have to be careful.

[Neco]

I'll just chime in here, since I've been on methadone for around 6 months now.

I have almost always exclusively taken 1 dose a day, no matter how much I was taking. I think this is also the best way to do it as well. Since I have a lot of experience with once a day, obscenely large doses of painkillers, I can say without a doubt, unless you are having breakthrough symptoms, taking it twice or more could backfire on you.

Methadone in particular with its long half-life is perfectly suited for once a day dosing of however many mgs you need. I can go almost a full 24 hours with 10 or 15mgs, however if I were to only take 5, 6 - 8 hours later I would be needing more because the RLS was starting to come back.

That being said, there is no reason not to take staggered doses IF you find it works better for you.. A lot has to do with the person taking it..

Start slow, take 5mg and see how you feel.. If you don't have a lot of experience with other pain killers you will experience side effects. Usually sleepiness, or some sort of small buzz. This will fade or at the least level off as time goes by. You have to be extra vigilant that you don't overdo it, just like you do with keeping yourself from having a drink.

While I don't share the same alarmist view as others, there's no reason not to be cautious. Eventually you may reach a point where you can start reducing your other medications, like Requip..

As long as you are responsible you have nothing to fear from methadone.. The only thing I would caution is that your taking a benzo for anxiety.. Benzos and Opiates together, I'm sure I don't have to explain..


But like others said.. You're not Anna Nicole smith.. She had to have been taking doses that would probably even kill ME outright for as long as she had been on the stuff.

Start slow, try to dose once a day, don't drink. Everything will work out fine.

By the way, anyone looking to increase the onset of their medications drink some soda, or sodium (bi?)carbonate.. Anything carbonated really, should help with absortion.. Also helps to eat a little food beforehand as well to give your GI a jumpstart

[bharrod]

Wow, great advice here from everyone, thanks so much for taking out the time to chime in everyone!

I have not tried the methadone, still waiting for hubby to come back from sea (which will be tonight late) so tomorrow I will take the 5mg and let him be home to watch me and my breathing etc.... I have decided NOT to take the xanax while on the methadone, I am hoping that maybe the methadone will help with the anxiety too. I am augmenting on the requip, but mainly I am depressed and I think the requip is the problem.
For now, I will just take the Carbotrol, the Zoloft, and the Methadone (starting tomorrow). No more xanax and no more requip as of tomorrow.
I will let you all know how that goes.

PS - I have not had a drink in over 30 days now. Since Jan 6, 2008.
Woo-Hoo, maybe I should celebrate tonight? With a drink? LOL Just kidding......
Love you all so much,
Mia

I'll just chime in here, since I've been on methadone for around 6 months now.

I have almost always exclusively taken 1 dose a day, no matter how much I was taking. I think this is also the best way to do it as well. Since I have a lot of experience with once a day, obscenely large doses of painkillers, I can say without a doubt, unless you are having breakthrough symptoms, taking it twice or more could backfire on you.

Methadone in particular with its long half-life is perfectly suited for once a day dosing of however many mgs you need. I can go almost a full 24 hours with 10 or 15mgs, however if I were to only take 5, 6 - 8 hours later I would be needing more because the RLS was starting to come back.

That being said, there is no reason not to take staggered doses IF you find it works better for you.. A lot has to do with the person taking it..

Start slow, take 5mg and see how you feel.. If you don't have a lot of experience with other pain killers you will experience side effects. Usually sleepiness, or some sort of small buzz. This will fade or at the least level off as time goes by. You have to be extra vigilant that you don't overdo it, just like you do with keeping yourself from having a drink.

While I don't share the same alarmist view as others, there's no reason not to be cautious. Eventually you may reach a point where you can start reducing your other medications, like Requip..

As long as you are responsible you have nothing to fear from methadone.. The only thing I would caution is that your taking a benzo for anxiety.. Benzos and Opiates together, I'm sure I don't have to explain..


But like others said.. You're not Anna Nicole smith.. She had to have been taking doses that would probably even kill ME outright for as long as she had been on the stuff.

Start slow, try to dose once a day, don't drink. Everything will work out fine.